As it turns out, the relationship between Apple and Palm is even less amicable than we already thought it to be. Bloomberg got their hands on communications between Ed Colligan, then-CEO of Palm, and Steve Jobs in which Jobs made a proposal in which the two companies would promise to refrain from hiring each other's employees. Colligan, however, rejected the proposal, calling it wrong and "likely illegal".

Whether something "hinders competition or not" is simply based on the EC's say-so. I don't expect them to say so in this, since the companies involved are the EC's blessed children. If Intel or Microsoft were doing these things, the fines would have already been levied.